Head coach Dwayne Peel paid tribute to his side’s character in battling back to claim a crucial Judgement Day victory over the Dragons.
The 31-23 win has lifted the Scarlets into ninth spot in the URC standings and within touching distance of the play-offs with three rounds remaining.
Peel said: “It was a tough game and I am pleased with the character and resilience we showed to fight back.
“I thought we started well, we won the territory battle, but a few errors from us meant we weren’t able to capitalise on that. Then that final 20 of the first half and first 10 of the second I thought we lost the physical battle, they managed to get a few rips of the ball and we weren’t able to get in the game.
“But fair play, we showed resilience to fight back and battled hard to get that win. Five points was all important. Our scrum got on top and we started to dominate territory again; we also won the aerial battle, which was important and a big part of the game.”
Looking forward to the visit of URC leaders and European juggernauts Leinster to Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, Peel added: “It’s going to be an awesome week for us. That’s what we play the game for.
“We have all seen them over the last few weeks, they have looked very good, more than very good. So the task is big, but the reward is big as well.new
“These types of occasions are big at the club. That’s what you want. You want to be challenging yourself against the best.”
In terms of the play-off race, Peel added: “We are in the hunt. If you look at the fixture list of all those teams that are in the four to ten slot, they are all playing each other over the next couple of weeks, so it’s exciting.
“There are going to be sides taking points off each other, so we have got to focus on capitalising when the opportunity comes.”
Reflecting on a hard-fought victory, skipper Josh Macleod said: “It was tough. I’ve played in a fair few Judgement Days during my career and I don’t think I’ve come out on top in many of them. The Dragons are a tough team to pay against, they are physical and they have nothing to lose at this stage of the season, but I never lost faith in the boys.
“This is always a special occasion and this was one of the first times we have had three teams properly going at in terms of fighting for a play-off spot. It is vital for Welsh rugby to have this kind of spectacle – four quality teams going hard at each other in back-to-back games. We need to get fans through the door and this is one way that is going to do it.”